Dennis Brooks developed his love for the theater while earning his BA in English Literature and Drama at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. During his four years there he performed in over thirty stage plays but it was the experience of seeing a play he wrote and directed, “Nil Desperandum” come to life that excited him towards pursuing a career in writing.

After Tufts Dennis spent a year in New York acting in a couple theater productions and writing plays. Then a devastating breakup with his college girlfriend made it impossible for him to remain on the East Coast. He applied to only one school; the one farthest away from New York in both distance and sensibility: UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and TV to earn his MFA in Playwriting.

“Goodnight, Joseph Parker,” was Dennis’ thesis play at UCLA and although it was influenced by the lyrics of Tom Waits, at its heart it’s a play about Dennis’ failed relationship, and writing it was an attempt to purge that sad period from his life.

At UCLA he met director Luis Meza and was cast as one of the leads in his feature film, “Staccato Purr…” which premierd at Sundance.

While struggling to make a living as a playwright in Hollywood Dennis soon discovered exactly where a stage play in Hollywood belonged: On the shelf. And so that’s where “Goodnight, Joseph Parker” sat for years. After selling several screenplays and a television pilot, his friend John Leguizamo encouraged him to resurrect both his spirit and his play, “Goodnight, Joseph Parker,” and direct it as a film.

Finding actors was surprisingly easy for this low-budget project because the heavy character work involved excited only the most talented actors who gladly came aboard for minimum wage, eager to show off their true acting abilities.